Vampire: Master of Darkness

Overview

Vampire: Master of Darkness (known in Japan as In the Wake of Vampire and in Europe as Master of Darkness) is a 2D supernatural-horror action-platformer developed by SIMS and published by Sega for the Game Gear in Japan (on October 23, 1992), North America (on November 4, 1993), and Europe (sometime in 1993). It was also released for the Master System exclusively in Europe in May 1993.

Set in 19th century London, the game puts players in the role of Dr. Ferdinand Social: a young psychologist investigating supernatural occurrences and grisly murders after receiving strange warnings from the guardian spirits via his Ouija board. From there, he must take part in preventing the resurrection of the vampire lord Dracula.

The game plays similarly to Konami's 1986 platformer Castlevania, including the use of sub-weapons and the series' traditional stair-walking mechanic. While fighting the forces of darkness, Dr. Social encounters numerous weapons that he can use to update his arsenal (including different forms of bladed weapons and limited-use projectiles, such as bombs and pistols).

The Game Gear version was later digitally re-released for the Nintendo 3DS (via Virtual Console) on July 27, 2012 (in Japan) and August 4, 2013 (worldwide).

Weapons

Primary weapons consist of:

• Daggers: This is the weapon Dr. Social starts with. It does 1 point of damage.
• Sabers: These do 2 points of damage and have a longer reach than daggers.
• Stakes: Also with a longer reach these weapons do 3 points of damage.
• Axes: Although they have a shorter reach than Sabers and Stakes the 4 point damage of axes can kill most monsters with one blow.

Secondary weapons consist of:

• Pistol: With a supply of 16 bullets.
• Bomb: To throw down at hard-to-reach enemies.
• Boomerang: Different from your usual boomerang, these can not be catched on the way back.
• Projectile: This does 4 points of damage to enemies.

Items

Throughout the game you can also find different items. Some are only good for points, others have a impact on the game as well:

Bonus Globes: These magical globes increase your score. There are four different types:

• Pink: 300 points
• Grey: 500 points
• Red: 1,000 points
• Black: 1,600 points

Emerald: This item destroys all enemies on the screen and is worth 100 points.

Life potion: Restores 4 out of 8 life globes.

Dr. Social Voodoo Doll: These masks give Dr. Social an extra life.

Levels

1. Thames River (Boss: Jack the Ripper)
2. The House of Wax Dolls (Boss: Possessed Psychic Girl)
3. Epitaph (Boss: Count Massen)
4. Laboratory (Boss: Count Massen reprise)
5. In the Wake of Dracula (Boss: Dracula)